Together At Last
by MissSarahG1
Summary: This is a story of what I hope will happen now that Edith is finally with her daughter. It will also feature my ideas/hopes of what will happen at the Abbey and when or even if Edith will return home. It is set directly after Season 5 episode 6.
1. Chapter 1

**Together At Last**

This is a story of what I hope will happen now that Edith is finally with her daughter. It will also feature my ideas/hopes of what will happen at the Abbey and when or even if Edith will return home. It is set directly after Season 5 episode 6.

**Chapter 1**

She had finally got her dream, Edith Crawley was with her daughter, something she had dreamed about since she gave birth almost 2 years previously. At this current moment in time the two of them were in a hotel room in York, somewhere they were staying just for the one night, as it had only been the previous day that they had left. Edith was watching her daughter play with her teddy bear on the floor of the room when she turned to her and said "So, Marigold, where do you think we should go next, London maybe, or Paris, we could even go to the states?"

Marigold just looked up at her mother and smiled, not having understood a word that she said and then carried on playing, an action which made Edith laugh.

A few hours later, the two of them were in London, having just walked out of Kings Cross station.

"Welcome to London Marigold, now come on, there's somewhere that I would like to take you"

Edith then hailed a taxi, giving instructions to drive to Michael Gregson's house, which she had never sold, in the hope that he would one day return, something which she now knows will never happen. After a quick 30 minute drive they arrived at the house, and after paying the driver Edith, picked up her daughter and grabbed a hold of her case and walked up to the top step. She then looked around her to make sure she wasn't being watched or followed and went inside the house.

"Do you know where we are Marigold darling?"

"No"

"This house used to belong to your father, before he died, and this is where we shall stay until I can think of something more permanent, now let's go put you down for a nap and I shall call upon someone who owes me a favour"

A little while later, while Marigold is asleep there is a knock on the door, Edith answers and it is a young man, about the same age as Edith.

"Edith, I was shocked to hear from you, as well as shocked to hear that you are in London"

"Hello Henry, it is good to see you again, please come in"

"Thank you"

Edith then lets the man into the house, he takes off his hat and turns his nose up at the dusty smell a house adopts after not being in use for a long period of time.

"What is this place Edith, it doesn't seem to be a good enough place for a lady to stay?"

"It's a long story, please follow me"

She then lead him into the only room she had made a start on cleaning - the sitting room. After she herself had taken a seat on the couch, she invited him to sit next to her.

"Will you please explain why it is that we are here?"

"This was the home of the editor and publisher of The Sketch, Michael Gregson, he left it to me in his will, we were, I suppose you could say, a couple"

"I noticed you used the past tense there"

"Yes, I found out a few day ago that he had died, after being missing for over a year"

"Goodness gracious, I am so sorry for your loss"

"Thank you, however, there is more to the tale"

"I do apologise, please continue"

"Before he went missing, we had relations of an intimate nature, we weren't even married, it just sort of happened, then he went missing and shortly after I found out that I was pregnant, and in secret I had a daughter, my Marigold"

"You had a child!"

"Yes, I gave birth in Geneva, I was going to have her adopted out there, but I couldn't do it, so I brought her home and one of Downton's tenant farmers has been caring for her. When I found out that Michael was indeed gone, I couldn't handle it anymore, so I took her and ran"

"Oh Edith, it sounds like you've been through an awful ordeal"

"I have"

"I still do not understand why it is that you have asked me here"

"I was wondering if you could send someone to do some shopping for us, I need some more clothes, and Marigold will surely need new things too, as well as the fact that we will be needing food"

"I can give you one of my servant if you'd like"

"No, I know how to cook and clean, besides the fewer people who know where we are, the better, will you do it?"

"Yes, I shall get one of my maids to fetch the things you require, saying simply that a friend has fallen on hard times, how old is the child, Marigold did you say?"

"Yes, and she is 20 months and 3 days old, her birthday is February 3rd"

"Someone will be by this evening with your most urgent things, but for now, would you like me to go and fetch some food for you, you must be starving"

"You don't mind"

"Not at all, besides I have the day off today, there was an oil leak at my law firm"

"Thank you, and Henry, you cannot tell anyone I am here, I mean it, I do not want anyone knowing my whereabouts, and if anyone does ask for a name, say that I am Miss Sybil Gregson".

"Okay, I shall be back shortly"

"Thank you again"

Edith then showed him out of the door and went up to Marigold after hearing her whimper.

**End of Chapter **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Two hours later Henry returned with a bag of food for them, as well as a fresh change of clothes.

"My maid, Clara will be by later with some more things, she is just going to put them on the top step and leave"

"Thank you Henry, you've always been a good friend to me"

"Do you remember when we were little and you decided it was a good idea to climb that big oak tree?"

"Yes, I was chasing after Alice, and when I couldn't find her, I thought I should get up higher, to see if I could spot her, what I failed to realise was that it would be hard to climb back down, and so, there you were, to help me, you even covered for me when mama asked why my dress was dirty. If memory serves me you said that you had pushed me over when we were playing"

"I remember, mother was so angry with me, she banished me to my room for three days"

"Thank you for all this, before you go, would you like to come and meet Marigold?"

"I thought she was having a nap?"

"She was, but she woke up 20 minutes ago"

"Then yes, I would be delighted"

"Follow me"

Edith then led Henry up the stairs and along the corridor where they saw Marigold playing with her teddy.

"Hello darling" said Edith, picking the child up, "This is a very old friend of mine, his name is Henry, Henry, this is my daughter Marigold"

"Hello Marigold, it is a pleasure to meet you"

"Are you going to say hello to the kind man?"

Instead of saying anything Marigold just buried her head in the mother's shoulder.

"She's not this shy usually"

"It's fine, truly, well, I should be going"

"Okay, come on Marigold, let's go show Henry out, and then we can get something to eat"

A few minutes later, after they had shown Henry out, Marigold was drinking some juice while watching Edith prepare some sandwiches.

"It's just going to be the two of us Marigold, we are finally together and we are going to enjoy it, maybe one day we will return to Downton, but for now, I should like it very much if the two of us could get to know each other first"

Hours later, Edith put Marigold to bed and then returned to the sitting room where she sat on the sofa, reading a book. After a few moments she put the book down and stared off into space, thinking. She thought about many things, but mainly, she wished that she had told Tom about Marigold before she left, so she got up from her seat and went over to the desk in the corner of the room and composed a letter, addressed to him, it read:

_Dear Tom,_

_I am writing to tell you that I am perfectly well and also to tell you what I could not when you asked me. I have decided to send you this in depth letter because I know you will not judge me outright, that you will listen and think before passing judgement, unlike other members of our family._

_So here I go, when I left Downton, I did not leave alone, no, I have Marigold with me. She is the girl I had taken an interest in, and I had said interest in her because she is my daughter. I gave birth to her in Geneva on 3rd February 1923 and had her adopted in Switzerland, but I couldn't live knowing that my child was so far away. That is when Mr Drewe stepped in and offered to look after her, an offer which I took wholeheartedly. _

_I am sure that you can guess who her father is, and when I learned that my worst fears were true and that Michael was indeed dead, I knew that I wanted my child back, but I did not want to cause a scandal, so I took her and we left. I shan't tell you where we are, because I do not wish to be found, but know that we are happy, healthy and safe._

_Give my love to everyone, especially to Sybbie and George, let them know that their Aunty Edith loves them very much._

_Kind Regards_

_Edith and Marigold Crawley_

Then Edith put the letter into an envelope, wrote on the address of the Abbey and attached a stamp to it, posting it first thing the next morning.

A few days later at breakfast in the Abbey, everyone was sat around the table and were eating, though they weren't at all talkative, each worried about Edith. Suddenly, Carson entered the room with Edith's letter for Tom. gave it to him and then promptly left.

After he had read the letter, Mary asked him "Who is it from?"

"It's from Edith"

"What! Is she alright? Is she safe?"

"Let him speak Cora, what does she say?" asks Lord Grantham.

"She says that she is happy and safe, but won't say where"

"I don't suppose she left a forwarding address did she?"

"No, she says that she doesn't want to be found, now if you excuse me, I must go make sure that Mrs Patmore has prepared the basket for my picnic with Sybbie"

Tom then left the room, and hours later, in mid afternoon, after he had returned with Sybbie, he was in the nursery watching her and George sleep while nanny herself had a rest when Mary walked in.

"How was the picnic?"

"Good, she enjoyed herself I think, we went down to the river and fed the ducks, it was good to spend some time alone with her"

"I'm glad, now, are you going to tell me what was really in Edith's letter?"

"I don't know what you mean?"

"Yes you do, now tell me"

"Fine, do you remember the little girl that she took an interest in?"

"The one the Drewe's took in, yes, but what has she got to do with this?" asked Mary.

"She is Edith's daughter, her name is Marigold"

"Goodness gracious!"

"She gave birth to her in Geneva, early last year and had the Drewe's take care of her"

"I'm guessing that the father is Michael Gregson"

"Yes, and she says that when she learned that he was indeed dead, she did the only thing she thought she could do, she took the child and ran"

"And she really didn't say where they are?"

"No, do you have any ideas about where they could be?"

"I have a few, she could be staying somewhere fairly close, until she comes up with an idea, she could be in London, she might've even gone to Europe or be on a boat to America by now"

"Then what do we do?"

"I don't know Tom, I just don't know"

**End of Chapter **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**For those of you who haven't already noticed, I have changed a little bit at the end of the previous chapter, and now on with this one :) **

A few days later in London, Edith was smiling while watching Marigold play with her toys, she reminded her so much of Michael, they had the same nose and mouth and the same face shape too, however she did also have Edith's hair and eyes.

"Marigold darling, come here"

Once Marigold was sat in her lap, Edith looked at her daughters, big, round eyes and said "It has been splendid to spend all of this time alone with you, but if we are to survive, we are going to need money, so, starting tomorrow a lovely lady who is highly recommended is going to come and care for you while I go to work, but don't worry, because I will always be here to spend time with you, I love you"

Meanwhile, at Downton, everyone was in the Library, having a drink before bed, there was talk of the Russian refugees, Rose's growing fondness of Atticus Aldridge and of course Edith.

"So, Rose, how is it with your young man, is everything ok?"

"Yes cousin Cora, everything is perfectly well, in fact he was wondering if he could come up for dinner next week, and if it would be ok to bring his parents, I mean, you met them briefly at the race, but it would be jolly good to get to know them a little better, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would, please tell him that he and his parents are welcome, tell them Wednesday, is that ok Robert?"

"Yes, let him know that they are all welcome here, that they can stay for the night if they so wish"

"Oh thank you cousin Robert, thank you"

"Well, I'm feeling a little tired, so I shall retire, goodnight everyone" said Tom.

"Goodnight Tom"

"Mary, I was going to look in on the children on the way, would you care to join me?"

"Yes, goodnight papa, goodnight mama"

"Goodnight dear"

A minute later Mary and Tom were walking up the stairs when the latter asked "So, have you managed to find a trace of Edith yet?"

"Not quite, but I do know someone who might?"

"Really, who?"

"Henry Spencer, he's the son of one of mama's friends, Sybil, Edith and I used to play with him and his sister Alice, he and Edith were always good friends, now, he's a partner in a law firm in London, she might have turned to him for help".

"Are you going to call him?"

"I was thinking of going down there actually, would you like to come to?"

"Are you sure you want me there?"

"I am, and besides, if we do find Edith, she is more likely to talk to you, rather than me"

"I hope we do find her"

"So do I"

The next day at breakfast, everyone was sat around the table when Mary said "Tom and I are going to London today, we're getting the 10:00"

"Whatever for?"

"Well Mary has asked me to accompany her to a luncheon"

"Really, why?"

"I'm meeting up with some old friends, who are all bringing their husbands, and I did not want to go alone, so I invited Tom"

"That's nice, who are you meeting?" asked Cora.

"Catherine Asher, Emma Cavendish and Alice Sinclair

"Alice, how is she, you used to play with her and her brother, do you remember?"

"I do mama, and she's well, married to James Sinclair, 6th Earl of Stafford, and I believe she has three children, of which I am godmother to the eldest, Eleanor"

"That's right, I think the other two are Daniel and Richard"

"So how long are you going to be in London?"

"4 days or so, I'm going to take Tom around the city, he's not been in a long time"

"I look forward to it"

"Where are you going to stay?"

"Aunt Rosamund's, she's coming up here for a few days, so we asked if we could use her house"

A few hours later Mary and Tom were sat in Rosamund's drawing room, having just been served with tea.

"Now that we're here, where do we start?"

"I thought that we could start with Henry, see if he knows where she is, and if not, I thought we could go to Gregson's old office, he left her the business, maybe she's been there".

"Shall I go prepare the car?"

"Please, and then hopefully we can go and find a clue as to the whereabouts of my sister"

**End of Chapter**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

A short while later Mary and Tom were stood in the entrance hall of Henry's law firm, waiting for him to get there, having asked the receptionist to call him down. After a wait of just a minute or two he came out of a door that led to a flight of stairs.

"Ah Henry, there you are, how are you?"

"Mary, how splendid to see you, and who's this?" he asked.

"This is Mr Thomas Branson, my brother-in-law"

"Please, call me Tom"

"I shall, so what can I do for the two of you?"

"Have you heard from Edith, she left Downton and has not left a forwarding address, do you know where she is?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't, I do hope she's ok though"

"Do not lie to me Henry, it doesn't become you and you're terrible at it, tell me, where is she?"

"Fine, first of all, she and the child are ok, they are and second, she asked me not to tell you if you were to come calling"

"Please, we wish to see her with our own eyes, so we can see for ourselves that she is ok" pleads Tom.

"You can find her at The Sketch, she runs it now"

"Thank you Henry, I won't forget this, come on Tom, I need to have words with my sister"

Twenty minutes later Mary and Tom walked into the offices and up to the reception desk and are about to ask where Edith is, when she walks out of the office and sees them.

"Mary, Tom, what are you doing here?!"

"We came to London on important business and thought we'd come over and say hello"

"Ok, I was just about to head home, would you care to join me for lunch?"

"We would be delighted dear sister"

A few short minutes later the three of them were stood outside, when Mary stopped Edith in her tracks and said "How could you leave like that without even saying goodbye, especially to mama and papa?"

"If you don't mind, I would rather not air my dirty laundry out here, let's go back to the house and you can meet Marigold"

"We'll go in the car, it's parked just up here" says Tom.

Fifteen minutes later they are walking through the door of the house that Edith has set up home in.

"Before you meet her, let me say this, she's very shy, so don't make sudden movements"

"Ok, deal"

"Ada, where are you?" called out Edith.

"We are in the main living room Miss Edith" came the reply.

Moments later Edith led Mary and Tom into the living room, where they saw a young 20 or something woman playing with Marigold, who, upon seeing her mother, immediately crawled over to her, wanting to be picked up.

"Hello darling, did you have a good day with Ada? I trust that she's behaved well"

"Oh yes, she's a lovely child"

"Good, oh and may I introduce my sister Lady Mary Crawley and brother-in-law Mr Thomas Branson, this is Ada Price, she is Marigold's nanny"

"'Tis a pleasure to meet the both of you"

"Thank you Ada, your wages for today on the table in the hall, I shall see you tomorrow, same time"

"Of course, goodbye"

"Goodbye"

Ada then left the room and Edith sat down with Marigold on her lap and invited Mary and Tom to sit opposite her on a second couch.

"Mary, Tom, I would like you to meet my daughter Marigold, Marigold, this is your Aunt Mary and Uncle Tom, can you say hello?"

"Eyo"

"Hello Marigold, oh Edith she looks like you"

"I think she is a perfect mix of me and Michael".

"Come home" says Mary.

"I can't, I'd bring shame with me, here, everything is perfectly fine"

"Do not worry, we will think of something, but you are missed, George asked about you before we left"

"As did Sybbie, surely Marigold should be brought up with her own relations, we could simply say that you adopted her because you'd grown fond of her, that way your virtue and your honour would remain intact".

"Ok and I'm sorry".

"We know"

**End of Chapter**


End file.
